§578 Promotions: How Made; Effective Date

Summary

When a board picks warrant officers for promotion and the Secretary approves the report, the Secretary must put the approved names on one promotion list for each grade (or grade and category), in the order the law requires. Promotions from that list happen when more officers in that grade are needed and under the Secretary’s rules. A promoted regular warrant officer is appointed to the regular grade and a promoted reserve warrant officer is appointed to the reserve grade. The Secretary sets the appointment date and date of rank, and the officer gets pay and allowances from the appointment date. A promotion must follow the list order and come after earlier selections in the same grade. An officer is treated as having accepted the promotion on the appointment date unless they say no. An officer who has served continuously since taking the oath in section 3331 of title 5 does not need to take the oath again. If an officer is picked for promotion and approved for transfer to another component before being placed on the list, the Secretary may move the name to the new component’s list under rules from the Secretary of Defense, and that promotion is made under section 12242.